Dual Power, Time Soft on Putin, Russia Doesn’t Matter, and P-Dawg’s Bling
The Russian news is still at a trickle at least until next week. Still there are a few articles that have caught my eye.
The first is an editorial from Nezavisimaya Gazeta published before the New Year. The big news of 2007, NG says is that “Putin is staying . . . everything else derives from this.” But as NG I think rightly points out, Putin’s continued grip on Russian politics is no so much out of a personal desire for power. It is a result of the contradiction internal to the very system he’s presided over.
“Putin was unable to quit because of the impossibility of leaving behind — without himself — strong and strong-arm elite groupings competing strongly with each other. A struggle among influential clans, getting out of control, could very quickly become a factor in the degradation ..read more
